Book description
George Herbert is one of the best-loved English poets, and the simplicity of his language, combined with his elaborate imagery and technical ingenuity, have influenced poets as diverse as Coleridge and Hopkins. Although all of his poems are overtly devotional, many can be seen as love poems every bit as passionate and varied as the lyrics of his family friend John Donne.
Herbert "pattern" poems, arranged to form the shape of the subject which they address, such as an altar or a cross, are perhaps best epitomized by Easter Wings. His simple sweetness, combined with gentle humour, can be seen in The Pulley and Love and have caused him to be one of the older poets most admired by practising modern poets, whether or not they share his faith.
